Every light gust of air made Cillian feel like his skin was being peeled with an ice-cold knife. He stripped off his soaking clothes and rung out as much water out of them as he could. He drained the water out of his socks, trousers, shirt, and jacket. His fingertips were bright pink by the time he was done. The cold was not nearly as bad once he put his clothes back on, but they were not completely dry. He could endure it for now, but not for long.
Cillian looked up at the sky.
No more sun. I have to get moving.
Only rays remained as the clouds shifted from pink to a darker and darker blue. He bent down to the side of the unconscious Eliana to take a sip of the water. He brought his face to the river so he did not have to get his freezing hands wet. After he was satisfied, he got up and started to jog up the hill. Thirst was no longer a problem, but he felt the pains in his stomach from hunger. The adrenaline of racing against the dwindling light was not enough to numb the ache his muscles felt. The warmth his body generated from moving was in a constant battle against cold wind and damp clothes.
The increasing lack of light would have made it impossible for Cillian to navigate if it hadn’t been his second time up the path. He stumbled up to the stone cube just as the sky had completely descended into darkness. The moon was only in its first quarter, making anything that wasn’t right in front of Cillian unseeable.
He walked into the cube’s corridor to retrieve what was in his pack. He had a rough idea of where he left it, but he had to kick his legs around until he felt it against his feet. The relief brought him to his knees. Cillian sat his back against the corridor wall. He breathed heavily from all the running it took to get here. The cold air burned his lungs.
After a few minutes, as his body began to slow its rapid metabolic burn, the cold began to weigh heavy all around him. His body began to shiver and shake.
I need a fire.
He dug through the pile of the contents of his pack he had dumped earlier and pulled out his curved steel handle and block of flint. Then it dawned upon him, he used up all the fuel and tinder material in the fire he had made earlier that day.
“Damnit!” he cried out in frustration. Cillian laid his head back and let his body go limp. He had planned on gathering more material after he passed through the stone cube. The moonlight let him see the faint outline of the pile of rocks.
There is that edge of forest right outside.
Cillian searched for his knife and headed towards the trees. He stuck his hands out and walked slowly. He wasn’t careful enough, however, as he quickly ate a mouthful of branches. That was his signal that he had found what he was looking for. Cillian got on all fours and groped around in the dark for fallen branches and twigs. He collected a bundle that he was satisfied with and went back inside the cube.
It is less windy in here.
The cold kept building on his body and his fingers had almost lost their feeling. Cillian wasted no time in building up the wood he collected. He cleared a space and started laying the wood down to make a small platform.
My best bet is to keep everything away from the snow and cold ground.
Then, he used his knife to make tiny shavings that he delicately bundled into a small pile on the makeshift wooden platform. Once the pile was big enough, he carefully put the knife aside and equipped the flint block and steel handle. The pile was so fragile it would be blown apart by any movement.
Cillian struck the steel against the flint right above the pile. Sparks launched forward and a few landed in the pile, while the majority streamed right above it. Cillian struck the flint again, and again. The sparks flew and provided temporary illumination before vanishing. Then, the light stayed. The pile of wood shavings caught the sparks and a tiny flame was there. Cillian dropped the flint and steel and cupped his hands around the flame, doing his best to nurture it.
The warmth around his hands was immediate, and the flame grew rapidly. It grew till the size of his thumb, then abruptly went out.
“No, no, no,” Cillian looked on in panic. He grabbed the knife off the ground and started to make more wood shavings.
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I have to light this fire.
Within a matter of minutes, Cillian had made another pile. He calmed himself and steadied his frantic breath. Cillian deliberately held the flint block and steel so that he would be striking right towards the pile. This would cause the entire stream of sparks to directly hit the pile of wood shavings.
“One, two, three,” on the count of three Cillian struck the flint as hard as he could. Sending a large beam of sparks flying toward the pile. His strike was so strong that it knocked the flint block out of his hand, into the wood shavings, and off into the pile of rocks that blocked the path.
Cillian screamed out in frustration and slammed his fists into the stone ground. The cold made his skin like paper, and his hands became covered in cuts. Cillian brought his knees to his face. He was overcome with the sudden urge to cry and tears dripped down his face. Their warmth quickly faded to icy pain.
Tiny pinpricks of cold began settling on top of Cillian. He looked up, the moonlight was gone, and snow fell on his head. He put his face back between his knees, where there was some semblance of warmth. Any heat created by Cillian’s jog up to here was long gone from his body. Now, all that remained was the cold.
I am going to freeze.
There was no doubt in his mind. Just two days ago he had the dreams and excitement of a whole new life, an adventure where he quested against his weakness.
Weakness is all I have. Too weak to save myself. Too weak to get stronger. Too weak to protect Amalea.
More tears came out.
Why did I ever think I could do this? I didn't even stop to think about it. All I did was get myself killed.
He buried his head deeper.
Amalea never thought I was weak. I was always her big strong brother. She wouldn’t even recognize me right now.
Cillian sat up straight and pushed the hair out of his face.
She wouldn’t even recognize me right now.
He got up almost losing his balance, yet remained standing.
She wouldn’t even recognize me right now.
Cillian dug through his stuff again, till he felt the distinct edges of what he was looking for. He grabbed the pink identification crystal. Cillian could not see anything in the dark, so he did not close his eyes.
Me. Me. Me. The crystal glowed and from it, the pink screen came forth.
Name: Cillian Drake Norwood Level: 0 HP: 11/15 Age: 19 Body: 5 Spirit: 8 Mind: 4
Cillian didn’t intend to look at his stats. He tossed the crystal to the ground, using it as a way to illuminate the corridor in bright pink. When out of the corner of his eye he saw the number 8, he turned back to read his stats.
“That’s not right,” he said aloud. His spirit was supposed to be 6. He stood confused for a moment.
It doesn't matter right now. If I stop moving I will die.
Cillian used the light to quickly identify his empty pack and began filling it with the rocks that stood in his way. At first, he moved slowly. Each trip in and out of the corridor took multiple minutes. The pain of an empty stomach, aching body, and freezing limbs all stifled his movement. But, the more trips he made, the faster he moved. The faster he moved, the more the warmth of his body returned. Cillian’s speed increased till he was running, rapidly filling his bag and running outside the corridor to dump the rocks.
“I will not die!” Cillian screamed as he ran. He kept chanting it. The cold of the night increased and the snow fell harder. Cillian only responded with a louder scream and a faster run.
Hours went by, his voice was frayed, and the last load of rocks had been placed out. Cillian’s body had reached fatigue beyond his control. He could barely process that the once giant mound of rocks had been flattened.
“I…will…not,” Cillian whispered as his vision blurred and faded. He fell to the floor, limp, as his body succumbed to exhaustion.
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[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1008571040097632317/1008747247434997840/bugballer_sunset_over_snowy_mountains_realistic_4k_f8d7cef1-1ea4-482d-b002-e2d5df7a0fff.png]
Sun sets over the mountains